July 2009 Archives

WASHINGTON – Rep. Hank Johnson (GA-04) announced today that 18 more officers will be on the job in DeKalb and Rockdale counties thanks to funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

It’s part of $1 billion in grants to hire or rehire 4,699 law enforcement officers throughout the country. Georgia received more than $31 million for 184 officers.

The grants, administered by the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) through the federal agency’s COPS Hiring Recovery Program, will provide 100 percent of the approved salary and benefits for entry-level officer positions for three years.

“As a former county commissioner, I understand that public safety is the No. 1 priority for local officials,” said Johnson. “I’m pleased that we are able to help local governments in the Fourth make the necessary investments to fight crime more effectively and protect our citizens.”

DeKalb County was awarded $3,112,845 to fund 15 officer positions, and Conyers will receive $409,728 to fund three officers.

DeKalb Chief Operating officer Burrell Ellis, faced with difficult budget decisions, said the funding is crucial to his police department.

“One of the problems we’re dealing with is that we need more officers who will help the dedicated men and women we currently have on the force,” said Ellis. “I told the citizens and officers of this county that help was on the way, and this is part of fulfilling that promise.”

Conyers Police Chief David Cathcart said the boost from COPS will make his already high-achieving department even better.

“One of the many benefits of living in the City of Conyers is excellent law enforcement,” said Cathcart. “This grant will help our team keep an even closer eye over our homes and businesses.”

For more information about the grants, please visit www.cops.usdoj.gov.
 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Hank Johnson (GA-04), concerned his constituents are not receiving accurate information on the health care reform debate, sought to set the record straight about what changes might look like for his constituents.

Insurance companies, not health care professionals and consumers are dominating the debate, Johnson said.

“I recently heard from a 54-year-old constituent who is self employed and cannot qualify for group insurance,” said Johnson. “Her husband has a small business and her son is on her policy. Health insurance costs their family more than $1,800 out of pocket a month or more than $21,000 a year. They don’t want free care, just affordable care.”

Johnson said workers worried they might lose their coverage if they become too sick or lose their job and small business owners trying to make a living and do right by the people they employ would be helped by reform.

“Skyrocketing health care costs are crippling individuals and small businesses,” said Johnson. “I respectfully disagree with folks who say reform is not the answer. Reform will buoy small businesses and uninsured or underinsured citizens by allowing them to purchase plans through an insurance exchange and by providing tax credits to help them provide benefits.”

America’s Affordable Health Choices Act or H.R. 3200 would provide significant benefits in the Fourth Congressional District of Georgia: up to 14,200 small businesses could receive tax credits to provide coverage to their employees; 5,400 seniors could avoid the donut hole in Medicare Part D; 2,230 families could escape bankruptcy each year due to unaffordable health care costs; health care providers would receive payment for $98 million in uncompensated care each year; and 109,000 uninsured individuals would gain access to high-quality, affordable health insurance.

A closer look:
 
• Help for small businesses. Under the legislation, small businesses with 25 employees or less and average wages of less than $40,000 qualify for tax credits of up to 50 percent of the costs of providing health insurance. There are up to 14,200 small businesses in the district that could qualify for these credits.

• Help for seniors with drug costs in the Part D donut hole. Each year, 5,400 seniors in the district hit the donut hole and are forced to pay their full drug costs, despite having Part D drug coverage. The legislation would provide them with immediate relief, cutting brand name drug costs in the donut hole by 50 percent, and ultimately eliminating the donut hole.

• Health care and financial security. There were 2,230 health care-related bankruptcies in the district in 2008, caused primarily by the health care costs not covered by insurance. The bill provides health insurance for almost every American and caps annual out-of-pocket costs at $10,000 per year, ensuring that no citizen will have to face financial ruin because of high health care costs.

• Relieving the burden of uncompensated care for hospitals and health care providers. In 2008, health care providers in the district provided $98 million worth of uncompensated care, care that was provided to individuals who lacked insurance coverage and were unable to pay their bills. Under the legislation, these costs of uncompensated care would be virtually eliminated.

• Coverage of the uninsured. There are 130,000 uninsured individuals in the district, 19 percent of the district. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that nationwide, 97 percent of all Americans will have insurance coverage when the bill takes effect. If this benchmark is reached in the district, 109,000 people who currently do not have health insurance will receive coverage.

• No deficit spending. The cost of health care reform under the legislation is fully paid for: half through making the Medicare and Medicaid program more efficient and half through a surtax on the income of the wealthiest individuals. This surtax would affect only 1,700 households in the district. The surtax would not affect 99.4 percent of taxpayers in the district.
 

Rep. Hank Johnson (GA-04) appeared today at the House Subcommittee on Domestic Policy hearing to explain his Arbitration Fairness Act of 2009.

The subcommittee – part of the larger Oversight and Government Reform Committee – met to evaluate whether consumers are getting a raw deal when creditors force them to settle their debt disputes through the forced arbitration system.

The hearing explored whether consumer debt collection arbitration, as currently administered, is fair and legitimate.

Johnson’s Arbitration Fairness Act or H.R. 1020, which he first introduced in 2007, aims to protect consumers from business practices that require them to cede their rights to a jury trial as a condition of service and instead send them through an opaque arbitration process.

Johnson cleared up a common misunderstanding with his legislation after several lawmakers and witnesses at the hearing misinterpreted that H.R. 1020 would “do away with mandatory arbitration procedures.”

“The Arbitration Fairness Act does not forbid arbitration clauses,” said Johnson. “It merely prevents forced pre-dispute arbitration clauses. Consumers may still opt to arbitrate a dispute with a company. But only when that consumer determines that it is the appropriate forum at the time the conflict arises and not before.”

Subcommittee Chairman Dennis Kuchinich recognized Johnson’s hard work on the issue. His staff, which conducted an investigation of the arbitration process in regard to debt collection, concluded that the system “is ripe for abuse, and it has been abused by the largest administrator of ‘consumer arbitrations.’ ”